Gen. Chandler: Air Force "INVESTing" in driving efficiency

Gen. Carrol Chandler

"Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Carrol H. 'Howie' Chandler spoke about Air Force efficiency initiatives Oct. 28 as part of the Military Strategy Forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies here.

"Air Force Smart Operations, known as AFSO21, is a continuous improvement process Air Force leaders implemented several years ago that incorporates portions of the Lean and Six Sigma process improvement tools into an eight-step problem-solving model.

"The INVEST Awards is a DOD contest that awards cash prizes to those who submit the best ideas for improving efficiency. INVEST suggestions from Airmen included a move away from the traditional end-of-fiscal-year spending drill often seen in DOD.

"He also said the INVEST suggestions by Airmen showed a desire to eliminate inefficiencies, such as un-needed headquarters organizations and redundant inspections, and to focus more on environmental awareness, with an emphasis on renewable energy.

"Rather than take unneeded office items to a Defense Reutilization and Marketing Office for disposal, DOD members could instead offer them to other agencies for re-use on a Craigslist-like website, the general said.

"General Chandler's appearance at CSIS was part of series geared toward understanding the military services' approaches to DOD's efficiencies initiative. Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Chiarelli kicked off the discussions at CSIS July 15, and Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert will participate in his own forum Nov. 1."

I played highlights of Gen. Chandler's presentation in the first hour of the show today. You can hear the entire presentation by clicking on the audio link. You can learn more about the event by clicking here.